The House of hades
by Erik The Viking
Summary: This is the house of Hades- my version. I'll try to write it well, but it probably won't be the best one you'll read. First 10 chapters were given to me by InfernoLeo9. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Nico's day was already pretty bad before the giant sea monster came and attacked. His first friend, Percy Jackson, and his girlfriend- who Nico had a tiny crush on- had fallen into Tartarus. His sister was dating that baby of a demigod, Frank, and Gaea wasn't far from winning this whole thing. And he had just spent the week imprisoned by some crazy giants in a giant bronze jar.

"What is that thing?" screamed Jason at the satyr, Coach Hedge.

"That, cupcake, is Cetus! Perseus fought him by using Medusa's head!" bleated the goat back.

"Anyone got a handy Medusa Head available?" asked Piper.

"Fresh out." Shouted Leo.

All in a normal day of fighting terrible ancient sea monsters.

The thing was most definitely ugly. It looked like a whale, only it was longer, with big, yucky eyes, a dull pink color, and a sea serpent look to it. It had maybe 100 rows of razor sharp teeth; lining it's large maw, and looking at it made Nico spit at it in disgust.

Frank was attacking it dragon-style, literally, while Jason struck it with lightning. "This is no use!" said Hazel. "Any more and the ship will break!"

"Have a little faith." Leo reeled back, taking it as an insult. Nico could have sword Dragon Frank rolled his eyes.

"She's right, cupcake!" said the goat. Leo muttered something about old goats and such, but was able to fly the Argo II out of range. Nico collapsed, grateful. All the undead skeletons next to him collapsed into bones.

Jason flew back onto the deck. Piper rushed up to him and whispered some things in his ear. His eyes widened, and glancing back at the sea that was below the warship, he turned ghostly pale.

Nico followed his gaze. The ugly creature was still following them.

"Guys! We have a problem! We need to head inland. Now!" he yelled. Leo nodded, and guided the ship towards the green speck in the distance. In less than 30 minutes, they were hovering over a cliff that was many feet above the sea. Ugly roared and sank back into the depths. Everyone let out a big sigh. Dragon Frank landed and turned back into regular Frank.

"I told you guys! No monster between Rome and the sea equals big monster waiting for us!" said the Canadian.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Alright, I really want to step on some dry land, so do you guys mind?"

Leo nodded, and the ship landed. Marching out, Nico immediately spotted the woman. She waved the heroes over.

"Come! Come! I have a story to tell!" she yelled in a heavy Greek accent.

Hazel and Frank exchanged glances. Nico understood. It could be a trap.

But Leo, of course, forgot all about that and bounced over. "What story?"

The lady was very beautiful, with long black hair, and a dark tan. She nodded. "A story about a princess, a jealous queen, and a miracle."

He smiled like a 4 year old, and sat down.

The rest of us approached, ever so slightly. She just smiled and said "I am Leto. There is no need to fear me."

"Leto… I've heard that name." said Jason, who furrowed his brow.

"I expect you have. Sit." She waved her hand, and some comfortable looking cushions lay on the ground. Leo easily snatched one, and sat on it. Nothing happened, so we all sat down.

"Once, a long time ago, there was King Zeus. King Zeus had a queen- Hera. But he still fell in love with many people. He looked down upon the Earth one day and saw a Titan's daughter, Leto."

"Like you!" said Leo.

"Yes. And she became pregnant. Hera was jealous though. She commanded all the lands not to take her in, and if she couldn't find a place, she couldn't have her babies. But a floating island, Delos, took Leto in, for it was not really land. But then again, Hera forbid the goddess of childbirth to come, so then again she couldn't give birth. But all the goddess swayed Hera by giving her a beautiful necklace 9 yards long. She let the goddess go, and Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis."

"Wait… you're the Leto! Mother of Apollo and Artemis!" exclaimed Piper.

"Can you tell us which came first?" asked Nico. "Apollo and Artmeis always fight over who was born first."

"Artemis." She smiled.

"So, because you have a problem with Hera, you want to kill us?" asked Frank after a short, awkward silence.

"Oh no, I really like Hera. She's very nice once you get to know her. I came to tell you my sister, Asteria, has something you need. You see, your quest will fail without her help. And look out for Tityos. He tried to kidnap me to get me to marry him, back in the day. So look out for him!"

"Tityos?" Piper glanced at Jason, who just shrugged. The heroes then proceeded up the gangplank onto Argo II.

"Hello Perseus."


	2. Chapter 2

Nico looked at the guy confused. He wore elaborate golden armor, with designs of sea monsters. Everything was gold- his sandals, his man-skirt, his gloves. He wore a golden mask that was remarkably realistic to a gorgon face. He held a golden sword at Coach Hedge's neck. Piper and Hazel hissed, and for an instant, he almost saw Frank as a grizzly bear.

"Where is Perseus Jackson!" he yelled in a thick, middle-eastern voice.

"Gone." Said Jason. "Where are your dolphins?"

"Gone." He flourished his hand. "So, I suppose I won't be needing this." He threw away a shirt of Percy's, and a pair of pants of Annabeth's.

"Why are you taking our clothes?" asked Leo. "I mean seriously, are you that much of a creeper?"

The man shrugged. "I see you picked up a new crew mate. What's your name demigod."

The things Nico said just then weren't very nice. Even Hedge looked at Nico. "Nice mouth, cupcake."

Nico did a bow.

The golden man seemed unphased. "Hmph. Anyways, do you know of the Laelaps?"

The crew just looked at each other in confusion.

"Good. All the more fun." He whistled, and a giant dog leaped up onto the deck. It looked like a mix between a black greyhound and a white mastiff, if that was possible. It growled at the demigods.

"Laelaps, and ancient hound dog belonging to some Greek hero, used to hunt down the Teumessian Fox. Laelaps is magically able to catch whatever it is hunting, and the Fox can never be caught. They were put in the stars when Zeus got a head ache, but I was able to get some of his pups. You won't find any myths about his pups. They are unknown. This is the alpha of the pack." Golden Boy threw the dog the sack of clothes. The dog sniffed it, and growled back at us. Then, it dragged the sack off the ship, and into some brush. Barking and yelps followed.

"You are now their next targets. So you better start running, because they will catch you." He laughed manically, and pushed Hedge down to the deck. He then jumped off board, and disappeared.

Leo hurriedly brought them back into the air.

"Who was that!" exclaimed Nico.

"Chrysaor." Said Piper. "We had a run in with him earlier. He's the son of Medusa and Poseidon. And he has it out for us because we defeated his dolphin crew and sank his 6 million dollar vessel."

Nico nodded. "Got it. But these Laelaps, we gotta avoid them. But we still have to find

Asteria."

"Who is Asteria?" asked Piper.

"I think I know." Said Leo. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. "Hey! Well, she was a god, or titan, or something for dark things, necromancy and oracles. Something like that. But Zeus really liked her, so he pursued her. But she doesn't like guys, so she turned into an island. I think."

Frank rolled his eyes. "So, what do we do?"

"We split up." Said Hazel. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"What?" asked Nico.

"We split up. Piper, Coach and I will go find Asteria, and the rest of you head for the Doors of Death. If we split up, it will confuse the dogs."

Jason nodded slowly. "That might work. But traveling overland is dangerous. Gaea might stop you guys."

"She might not know what we are doing. And she won't be focusing on us. She will be focusing on the people going to the Doors of Death."

"But the hounds will catch you easier." Frank looked specifically at Hazel. Nico almost snorted.

"It's our only chance. Besides, the more demigods, the more likely they'll follow that group."

"How are we supposed to find Asteria thought?" asked Frank. "It'll be impossible without help."

Hedge cleared his throat. "Nico might be able to help with that."

Nico looked is surprise. "How?"

"Feel. Is there any source of death or undead around?"

Nico sighed, and concentrated. Expanding his senses, he immediately felt a presence.

"50 miles from here, if you head east, there is a huge amount of undead concentration." He said. "I can easily lead you there." "Oh no. Leo, we need you to find the House of Hades. We can't spare you." Said Jason.

Nico sighed with a huff. "Hazel, do you think you can feel it?"

Hazel nodded. "Maybe."

Hedge yawned. Nico was surprised to see the sun was beginning to set, turning the ocean a beautiful orange. "Been a long day cupcakes. Let's get some rest. Then tomorrow we'll split up."

"I'll take first watch." Grunted Jason. Leo nodded and hovered the ship in the air. No dogs tonight.

Nico yawned and retired to Percy's bedroom, which had become his officially. In seconds he was out.

In his dreams, Nico saw nothing. Literally, darkness. Then, a dull, bronze glow. To his relief, he saw Percy with Riptide. Annabeth was on the ground next to him.

"Are you ok?" asked Percy, who had helped her up.

"What do you think, Seaweed Brain?"

The dream shifted. They were staring at a group of zombies.

"What are these?" gasped Annabeth.

"Annabeth doesn't know something? The world must be ending!"

"Your head is full of kelp."

Percy smiled, wiggling his eyebrows. "Let's get out of here. These zombies are creeping me out." The scene shifted once more, where Annabeth and Percy were talking to a guy spinning on a wheel of fire. Nico couldn't hear their conversation.

Then he felt a dark force pulling him. He turned around and there stood Gaea.

"Come to the Doors of Death. You and your friends are no match for me. Come, son of Hades. I will defeat you." She threw back her head and laughed. "Go, find Asteria. She will not help you! The reign of the Olympians are over. I am awakening."


	3. Chapter 3

Jason wasn't happy with Hazel's plan. Splitting up was a bad idea. And that also meant being separated from Piper. But he pushed down his doubts and watched the sides of the boat.

"Hey." Said a voice. Jason turned and saw Piper.

"Hey." He walked over to her. "Don't let Coach catch you out here." Piper laughed softly. Jason loved her laugh. It was gentle, and reminded him of bells. _Focus Jason_.

"That won't be a problem. He's glued to the TV watching a wrestling match." He smiled, and together they walked to the ship rails and looked at the constellations in the sky.

"Jason… what are you thinking?"

"I… I don't think it's a good idea for us to split up. It's dangerous. And who knows, maybe Asteria won't like you and try to kill you."

Piper pressed against him. He instinctively took her in his arms, breathing in her scent. He really liked her, and during the time they've dated, he had really fallen for her.

"Is Superman scared?"

"What? No!"

Piper twisted around so their noses were pressed together. She reached up and played with his hair, which had grown unruly. "I am. I'm scared for Annabeth, and Percy. I'm scared for all the demigods. I'm scared for Camp Half-Blood. I'm scared we will fail, and Gaea will win, we'll lose, and the world will end." She rested her head between his head and shoulder. Jason stroked her back, trying to comfort her.

"I'm a little scared. But it would be stupid if we weren't. We have to be strong."

Piper gazed up at him. "I promise I'll stay alive. I really do."

Jason smiled. "You know, if it weren't for Gaea, we would have never met. I guess we should be thanking her."

Piper laughed. "I'll thank her when Coach becomes a pacifist." Jason joined in.

Jason smiled, and twirled her braids in his fingers.

Once morning had come, Jason pulled Piper away and kissed her. "Stay safe, Beauty Queen."

Piper smiled. "You too, Sparky."

She walked off the ramp and joined Hazel and Coach Hedge. She looked back with regretful eyes, and waved goodbye as Argo II flew off. The last Jason saw of her was a dark spot in the flat green landscape. Blowing out a puff of air, he joined Leo at the wheel.

"Missing her already?" He flashed an impish grin.

"Yeah." said Jason.

Leo nodded understandingly. "You know, if I had a girl, I'd be in your position."

Frank, who had been sitting on the deck pouting, muttered "No surprise you don't."

Nico stifled a laugh at that. Jason directed his attention at the son of Hades. He wasn't what he expected. His black mop hung over his face, so he looked depressed. His dark brown eyes seemed to stare into your soul, where they saw everything. He was very pale, and Jason was surprised he wasn't sunburned already in the hot sun. He was wearing an aviator's jacket, and some dark clothes. It was a surprise that he hadn't passed out of heat exhaustion. Overall, the boy didn't look like a very sunny person.

"Nico, where exactly is the House of Hades?"

"I don't know the exact location, but I know it's on the Acheron River, starting near Ammoudia. We'll sail up it, and most likely come up on it."

Jason nodded for Leo to direct them south, along the coastline. They were on their way.


End file.
